As strong as the seas are stormy.</style>
Delicately curved pale listeners twitch beneath a mess of spiraling silver and gold tresses, an unladylike yawn stretching bloodless lips and flaring blushed nostrils to reveal blunted teeth. It had been a long night, finding herself sleepless and fitful, memories of Confutatis and her twin sister's sudden appearance lingering at the forefront of her consciousness. Even Arya's slumbering presence had not been soothing enough to lull the young mother into a similar state in the arms of Morpheus. Instead she had kept both eyes upon the starlit sky, musing over the tangled web of emotions she hesitated to acknowledge lingering in her clavicle. By the time the artery of passing time had been sliced and the sun's blood swept in a morbid sweep across the previously scorched-black canvas, Hotaru had been blinking sleep free from dual colored eyes and cursing the newly arising feelings she had believed long slain and buried.
As Arya wandered out in her own little world, Hotaru kissed her goodbye and watched Odette in the distance, proud that she was able to trust her family to watch over the most important person in her world. Such was the reasoning behind her rejection of Tingal's propositioning. A scowl overtook her pretty features at the memory, sending her into an angered fit of movement away from her little cave and into the blinding light of the outside world. Tired limbs plodded on, armor warming beneath the pale reaches of the sun as she began a gentle lope around the cold glittering beach of the Basin lake, pride blooming in her veins and tempting a level of giddiness into her mindset. Exercise loosened her limbs, warmed her from the chill of the northern reaches, delicate bodice a sight to see streaming over the sands, gossamer puffs of icy breath clouding her maw. As the waters receded, her morning jog the secret to her slimmed belly post-birth, Hotaru allowed her body to relax and slow. She could feel the exhaustion steeping behind the temporary energy the exercise had granted her, and didn't want to push herself too hard.
Sighing, she glanced around, wondering where her wandering hooves had taken her. A bolt of I acknowledged fear and rage slammed into her as a striped form was spotted lounging in the sunny grasses. Tingal. But the figure was too small, too lithe in its languid repose to be the hulking monstrosity she so despised. A tiger then? The resemblance was staggering, but Hotaru doubted a humid-habitat tiger would be in the Basin without allegiance. It wasn't uncommon after all, for different species to seek their hospitality.
Approaching sluggishly she announced her presence with a careless whuffle and laughed softly, tiredly. "Truly, I am envious," she snorted, though the wisp of a smile was as friendly as she could get upon first greeting. Chancing a few steps closer. "Mind sharing your sun spot with a tired devil like myself?" Hotaru would find her own sunny area should she be denied but there was a surprising desire to not be alone for once. Maybe she would seek out Déodat or her lovely Lady later, if the inclination decided to stick around.
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